We just spent 5 nights at the Sheraton Maui and could not have been more pleased. The hotel is beautiful, the staff terrific, and the location is divine.
First, I must mention the terrific way they handle check-in. Basically, you drive up to the valet (first night is free), give them your name, and they hand you a key. You do not need to go into the lobby unless there is a problem.
We were upgraded from a Garden View to an Ocean View room in building 2. (I have Gold status.) The room was huge. My only \"complaint\" is that it was so huge it could have had 2 queen beds instead of 2 doubles which would have been much more comfortable. 
Despite their size, however, they were very comfortable. The TV was an amazing plasma number that my husband was loathe to leave. The view from the balcony was across the lawn to the ocean, with the pool to the right. (I had originally hoped we'd be in building 5 or 6, but after seeing how inaccessible they were as compared to building 2, I'd trade Oceanfront for convenience any day.) The bathroom was wonderful, with two sinks and a separate WC. Very handy for a family traveling together. Amenities were typical Sheraton junk.
We ordered room service our first night on the property. It was very well prepared and arrived very quickly. The cost was in line with any restaurant in Kaanapali. We did not eat at the hotel again because the restaurants did not look that interesting and they were quite costly - especially the breakfast at $30 per head for a buffet.
One thing that I found slightly irksome was the $18/day (plus tax) resort fee. This would be a very good price if you make phone calls or use the internet, but not having done either, it seems excessive for what amounted to parking.
My daughter went to some of the activities and they were terrific. And the cliff diving ceremony is not to be missed.
We were supposed to go to the luau right on property. We saw some of it on our first night and it looked great. Unfortunately, we were there during the Maui wildfires, and were actually displaced from our room for the night of the luau having gotten caught on the wrong side of the road closure. The hotel was very gracious and refunded our money without a second\'s hesitation. They also waived our resort fee for the day we were displaced.
All in all, this is a wonderful hotel with a great staff and an awesome location.
Review submitted by Allison.
Posted at July 22, 2007 2:25 AM
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4 experiences with sheraton maui resort
January 21, 2006 12:19 PM. Brandon S. said:
Building 6 might have been nice and private, but it was SO isolated from the rest of the hotel! Our family spent more time walking from the room to the pool than we did at the pool! And I don't know what floor you were on, but our lanai was almost unusable. The higher up you go, the smaller your lanai gets. We couldn't get more than one chair and table out there.
January 21, 2006 9:35 PM. Karen said:
Yeah, the Westin is okay but it's not a resort property like the Sheraton. If you're on vacation, the Sheraton is the place to be since it has a larger beach. I will say, though, that having stayed at both the Westin does have the better pool. If you can overlook that little detail, stay at the Sheraton again next time you're there!!
March 23, 2006 8:55 AM. Mark Phillips said:
The Sheraton Maui is a fabulous beautiul resort. The service level is exceptional here with smiles to greet you every day. Do what you can to get a room on the newer area of the property on the lava black rock. Yes, the Westin pool is better, but the beach area is not even comparable, Sheraton easily wins.
July 22, 2007 9:01 AM. flywithme said:
Overall, we enjoyed our stay at the Sheraton Maui. The facilities are nice, but not stellar. This day and age, and especially in a tourist-centric area like Maui, this hotel has been surpassed by many newer, "destination" resorts. However, the location is wonderful and the proximity to Whaler's Village made for very convenient dining and entertainment. This would be especially nice for families with children. We aren't convinced the hotel was a great value, but everything in Maui is expensive! Therefore, we'll probably try the Westin on our next visit.
The Sheraton Maui boasts a great location on Maui's Lahaina coast. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the hotel staff and escorted to check-in. I had provided my Starwood Preferred number at the time of booking, and seeing as it was our 10th anniversary, I was almost expecting an upgrade. Sure enough, we were placed in an oceanfront room in building six. What a deal! We would wake up in the morning and watch whales frolic in the Pacific. All you could see was ocean. If at all possible, I would recommend trying to land yourself in building six. The views and privacy were really fantastic.
We spent our days at the beach as we found the pool a bit chilly for our tastes. Our visit was during peak season, so the beach was very crowded. Most people would race to the beach hut at 8am to try and secure a lounge chair for the day. We opted to reserve a cabana well before we arrived at a cost of $35/day. While a bit steep, we did not feel like fussing with such details on our anniversary trip. Having this important convenience already lined up allowed us to enjoy a nice breakfast and mosy down to the beach whenever we wanted. The pool was similarly crowded, and books and other "saving" devices could be found on lounge chairs early in the morning. However, things usually opened up in the afternoon as the sun worshippers get their fill for the day and move on to other activities.
Speaking of breakfast, we found the Sheraton's offering to be nice but overpriced at $25/person. There's a Safeway nearby, which is great for picking up some basics and saving a ton of money. We tried to munch on snacks throughout the day so we could really enjoy our poolside drinks and dinners. Whaler's village, as mentioned above, is very close and has a good selection of restaurants to choose from. We particularly liked Hula Grill and recommend it for anyone. Great atmosphere, great food and wonderful service.
Another thought about the beach... it was so crowded in part because of its minimal amount of usable sand space. The beach drops off abruptly into the ocean, which also creates some occassional undertow issues in the water. I couldn't believe how strong some of the currents were. Had I been with our kids, they wouldn't have ever been swimming alone. That being said, when you're not dealing with the currents, the snorkeling around Black Rock is very, very good. We saw lots of interesting sea creatures, and if you make the bend around to the non-Sheraton side of the rock, you're almost guaranteed to see turtles. Those things are huge!
Overall, we had a wonderful stay. The staff was friendly, the rooms were nice (but nothing special) and the grounds and facilities were nicely maintained. We'll probably give the Westin a shot next time just for a change of scenery, but would definitely consider staying here again if that doesn't work out.